Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1887-04-30
TRAVELS IN JAPAN.
VILLAGE OF IRIMACHI IN THE
NIKKOZAN MOUNTAINS.
Temples and Shrines-Ram-
bles Amid Arcadian Scenes and
Snow clad Mountains.


Away to the north, about a hundred
miles from Yeddo bay, tower the jagged
peaks of the NikkoZan in, the province of
Shimodzuke, and in the very heart of
them, beneath the shadows of the temple
covered hills, nestles the pretty village CT
/, lrimachi. ! am not so pleased with the
great temples as l was at first | wonder
Indeed, one can not help but wonder
} when their glories Of color first dawn upon
him but l am not in sympathy with
them; they Cypress me, aud do not appeal
to me as they did two weeks ago, so l
leave them willingly. There is more TO
please and interest me in the quiet life OF
lrimachi, with its constant musical sound
or rushing waters from the Daiya river,
the mournfully sweet tones of the Nikko
| bell which come hourly down through the
groves Of cryptomeria, the pattering of
wooden clogs, or even the carvings of the
ravens which fight with Tama, the little
chin dog, when he takes his dinner in the
garden. These chin dogs are the pug
nosed, big-eyed little fellows we see in
America, which look so like the King
Charles spaniel The reason of their re-
semblance is that the English spaniel is
descended from pair of these chin dogs
presented to Queen Henrietta Maria in the
| seventeenth century by the Spanish EN-
bassador. The King became very fond of
| this kind of dog, and they received his
! name.
| VILLAGE OF IRIMACHI.
| Irimachi seems like Tyrolese village
the brown stone-laden roofs, overhaDging
caves. chestnut trees and good natured in
habitants, are all to be found. In this
cozy hamlet is a coy house where am
| fortunate enough to live. The house of
Kanaya stands back from the main street
in a garden where chrysanthemum tree
peony, wistaria with flowers, spikes three
| feet long, plum blossoms and much besides,
show in their season, while in the little
| plot to the right of the entrance grow in
| the rich, black soil cabbages, lettuce and
| celery of natures best, crisp and sweet |
have two rooms in the second story which
open upon gallery-the whole side opens,
| not windows or doors, but the walls En-
tering and closing the paper slides one
| finds as simple and artistic little room as
| can be desired. The floor is covered with
thick straw mats which give as you tread
| on them. There are eight of them fitting
nicely together. These mats are called
japanese in giving room dimensions
speaks of so or so many tetani; roughly
guessed at they measure six by three feet
| Each piece of the sliding wall is of the
| same dimensions, so the building or plan
ing of a house is simply the putting to-
| gether. according TO taste, tetdn,i and shOji
| tthe slides). The wooden ceilings and
posts are of light-colored wood without pol
ish, but so exquisitely smoothed by those
| little carpenters-who draw their planes
| toward them-as to show the beautiful
grain and have a look like satin. On
| one side are two alcoves separated by
| wall and pillar made of huge wistaria
| trunk stripped of its bark but showing the
natural, graceful curves and turns. One
alcoye contains three valuable kakenl0noS
| (scroll pictureS), one of cattle on river
bank and the other of horses-the life &C
| ton and grouping are wonderful The
| third picture, which was hung up for my
special delight, is branch of fruit flowers
in most delicate water-colors. / learn to
love the japanese picture, it is so simple
| and full OF suggestiyeness. 1t is in sim
| plicity only that the people excel-once de-
parting from simplicity they
SHOW THE wILDNEss ALMOST OF sAvAGEs.
| The other alcove is floored with a magnifi-
| cent slab of highly polished redwood
some shelves and a fixed cabinet with
sliding doors of painted silk are here, and
bronze vase with a spray from some
willow Just in bud. The colors of the
walls and panels between ceiling and shoji
| are delicate tints of blue. There is table,
three wicker chairs and student lamp to
| suit my barbaric taste, but their comfort
makes me forget their incoDgruitv. The
| next room is "six-mat" room, and has a
mattress upon the floor, one chair and a
| mirror, closets to each room and stream
| of running water from the bamboo covered
| hill, which rises abruptly at the back of the
| house, is brought to the back gallery of
this floor in a long trough. Along the
outer edge of these galleries are narrow
grooves along which wooden shutters can
be run so as to form a hallway and keep
| the interior warm. A box at the end out
| side the rail is where these shutters are
kept, and the terrific rafting made by Yasu,
| the house girl, twice IN the twenty four
hours, announce the beginning and close of
| night. To such home ! return from nv
daily Jaunts in the mountains or along the
river. 1t is about ten years since the tenn
pie of Jakko was burned, and the trees
which bordered the path leading to it were
cut away, but even to-day the melancholy
beauty of the place fascinates one-perhaps
the desolation adds 10 the charm
THE SITE OF JAKKo
Is soon reached gray fallen stones, more
| Clipped by the hand of time than the
stone-cutter, lie on both sides of the path.
| To the right, almost hidden in the tall
grass. is standing, life-sized figure of
Buddha; to the left a neglected graveyard.
| and in the center, arching the way, rises
beautiful tori of granite; amid all this desc
| lation and decay, clean and polished, with
out moss, stain or break. it stands chilly
and severe, almost making you SILVER as
you pass beneath it. A long fight of steps,
winding and ruinous, made of blocks, in
| the interstices of which are dead weeds
| bring you to the site. Only the foundation
outlines of the temple are left and they
are fast falling away. \ few moss-covered
| ratings still stand a stone lantern and
headless image. A wall of tree-covered
mountains rises from the opposite side of
the canyon, and to the right, white as
| the snow about it. leaps in ten breaks from
| the rocks fifty feet above the waterfall of
| Mana. Bowlders, gray and brown, long
stems of wild rice, dead, ghostly trees, and
one lone cryptomeria fill the scene The
whistle of a reed pipe and the laugh of
children breaks the silence, and | turn
away About a dozen children are climb
| ing the steps, following one who plays
| upon the pipe each child has smaller
1
| ins heads seem about to fall off at each sud-
den turn of his bearer Some of the little
riders themselves have dolls strapped to
their backs, and one of the dolls at which
| ! look has wee bit of a rag-baby tied
| upon it. The whole procession is so conf
cal that l laugh aloud and repeat, "As l
was going to st. Ives | met man with
seven wives, each wife had seven," ETC.,
much to the wonderment of the merry
company, which. of course, does not un
, derstand word. Crossing the stream l
presently come upon that lovely surprise,
the garden of Dai nichi-do. The very name
puts me always in a happy humor, and
visit to it is just the cure for the effects of
walk to Jakko.
| TWO LITTLE LAKELETs,
Like emeralds CLEAN in the sun, whole
families of Buddhas, large and small sit
| ing and standing, turn toward each other
as if socially chatting, or tip away in grim
moroseness, while some lie prone IN a way
suggestive of sake or foreign beer Taken
as one family they are quite Jolly set, and
must have some fantastic dances in the
moonlight in which ! should like to Join
An airy little stone pagoda rises from one
of the lakes, its sides quite overgrown with
moss of the warmest green. Round bellied